For Sale 1964 230SL Accepting offers greater than $50K usd.

[604peter]

230SL enthusiasts,
It's time to part with my father's prized 230SL w113.
I have a 1964 230SL 4 speed manual hard/soft top for sale in Vancouver, Canada.  Accepting offers greater than $50K usd.
The restoration was completed over 10 years and was not bestoke.  It was DIY with love and care by an old machinist.
Several members from this forum saw the car last fall and remarked how good the car is.
The car's engine was taken apart as dementia set in, and my father was not able to put the car back together.  I paid a MB mechanic to put the engine back together and do the brakes.
The car starts and runs.  I've driven it- but honestly it sits in my garage.  It uses and electric fuel pump to assist with cold starts.  It idles well and settles around 800 rpm.  Warm starts are fine.  Cold starts are more challenging.  Steering is good- not loose.  brakes are solid and responsive.  Suspension is tight- not spungy.  Car runs level and sits nicely on the road.  Toe in/out seems good as well as returning corners and straightening adjusts back to straight running.  Gears are pretty tight... neutral is a little loose, but I don't mind that. 
While this is not a project car- it is a car that an enthusiast will want to work on and change.
There are minor blemishes with the paint, as the resto shows its age. 
Not original paint code.  It's signal red- should be metalic copper/ bronze
Interior is black- should be brown (according to the VIN plate)
Muffler needs replacing... and maybe exhaust piping
Engine tuning to make it start better would be good.
Maybe minor body work depending how original new owner wants it. (e.g., my dad did some welding on the floor pans.  Didn't use OEM floor pan parts; he used plain metal).  There's not bondo on the car
Has the jump seat in the back
lots of chrome in good shape
great dash with paint, leather and wood to boot.

The car comes with lots of paperwork- its a great story how it crossed the Atlantic several times and has been in Germany twice with the USAF; then England and eventually Vacaville and finally Sacramento, California.  I have two binders of bills of sale, history, receipts, customs doc's, etc as well as mechanical drawings, technical data and engine measurements// tolerances that were hand drawn during the restoration... Earliest document I could find dates back to 1968.

Car was garage kept, and only driven in sunny days... and not often.  If you're interested, or would like more information/ pics or video you may DM or message me.
Thanks, Peter

[rwmastel]

Maybe some of our western Canadian members can recommend a professional appraiser.

Color changes are not a huge problem, condition is.  Correct repairs from the big collision that made the car a total write off in California is the biggest issue.

Then comes running condition.  You should drive it enough to know cold start, hot start behavior, lean or rich running conditions when cold or hot, appropriate transmission shifts, and steering & suspension noises or behavior.  Buyers will want to know details.

With a good number of pictures, we could tell you some little things that could be changed to make the car more original, or "correct", if you plan to put any money into it.  You may get recommendations not to.

Good luck with sale.

[604peter]

Hi Rodd,
Thanks for the reply.  It was very helpful.  When it comes to running condition, I have driven it (forgot to mention that) when writing the post.
The cold starts are a bit hard.  A electric fuel pump was installed and that helped tremendously.  Warm starts are fine.  Cold start idles at 1200 rpm and then lowers to about 800 and idles nice.  Warm starts are fine and it goes straight to an idle.  The brakes are fine.  The were redone in 2021 when I paid an MB mechanic to get the car running nice.  Care has lots of pep.  Shifting is good and tight.  There's not much slop in the shifter.  In neutral the shifter is a little loose, but it's not something that causes concern.  The suspension and braking isn't spungy of soft.  The car brakes strong and appears tightly sprung.  The car is loud and needs a new muffler.  I don't know about frame and straightening after the accident... but I can say that car sits well on the road and seems to drive quite straight.

I'm happy to DM or FT with you to show more of the car.  Thanks for your help and suggestions.  I can share more pics but my post is limited to four pics.

[rwmastel]

I'm not an appraiser, and I don't even follow the market, so I won't be giving pricing advice.  I would recommend an appraiser.  Hagerty insurance has a market guide for cars, and that will give some basic info for free.  Additional details are available to their paying customers.

Yes, you only get 4 pictures per post here, but they can be good size/resolution.  Wait for people to request pics.

We're pretty good at finding originality details, but I don't know if anyone will take responsibility for telling you what to price it at.

[Garry]

Hi 604Peter

Interesting story behind your car. However, you need to read rules at the start, about posting in the For Sale section of this Group as posts here must be priced.

I can understand your dilemma in trying to get a price and as Rod has said you shoukd seek an appraisal and then re-post with a price.

Unfortunately under our Forum’s rules, the post will be put into archives if not priced soon. Good luck with your future sale.

Garry
Moderator

[604peter]

Hi Gary,
Thank you for adding your comment.  I appreciate your consideration and I would not want to violate the rules of the group- that was not my intent- which is why in the last paragraph of my post I indicated that I was thinking of a price of $60K USD.  However, if that is too wishy-washy and violates that group rules, I'm happy to change it to something more concrete.
Thanks, again, and I apologize if my post was construed as breaking group rules.

[Bshaunessy]

604PETER:….some comments:
(1) a well travelled 230 SL…..sad circumstances for you and a pity you need to sell
(2) I'm (a) interested (b) also from BC 🇨🇦.  (Invermere) , so could come and see car in person BUT…..
(3) need A LOT MORE INFO AND PICS please. ( Q? DROPBOX or something similar to allow more pics….this site only allows 4 x pics….inadequate for a sales pitch).
(4) suggest you peruse Bringatrailer.com website / w113 / history of sales for some insight into typical sales pricing ( at least for BAT….BAT sales tends to definitely be on the higher side).   Dependant on additional history, mileage, rust, etc and photos, your contemplated $60k is likely in the ball park.
  Also review some of the w113 listings to get an idea of the typical photo requirements (100-300 pics!….hire a professional!) and disclosure requirements.   Listing on BAT will give you very wide exposure and will likely get you top dollar,  but is an immense amount of work.
(5) an easier route is to be satisfied with a listing on this site ( your most informed audience is HERE!)….but as indicated: MANY MORE PICS, MORE FULSOME DOCUMENTATION, REALISTIC PRICE.

[604peter]

Hi,
Thanks for replying and for the suggestions too.  Great idea about getting professionally done.
I'm happy to FT with you and walk you around the car, real time, and you can see everything you'd like in the moment.
Its also super helpful that you're relatively nearby (same country) to avoid customs brokerages, etc.
Let me know if that would be helpful.   I do have may pix I can share and video too.